


Truly, Just an Ordinary Ensign.

by CeciEvergreen



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Dom/sub Undertones, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Learning and Growing, Panic Attacks, Slow Romance, Social Anxiety, body image issues, curvy character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24501631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeciEvergreen/pseuds/CeciEvergreen
Summary: Jewel arrives at the Enterprise excited to start her new adventure with the greatest crew in the star fleet. She knew her hard-work and training at home had prepared her for this, and she felt she had earned it. But even with all of her adventures I don't think she was ever prepared for the obstacles and emotions the missions would throw her way... especially getting to know Data in way she never assumed possible for the android. Join her in her new adventure trekking the stars, created friendships that will change a life, adventures filled to the brim of excitement, and of course love in unexpected places.*This takes place roughly around Season four of TNG (Please keep in mind I've only watched them all once so the seasons jumble together a bit)*
Relationships: Data (Star Trek)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [May I?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244499) by [LadyFogg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyFogg/pseuds/LadyFogg). 



> Hello Lovelies, and thanks for checking out my new story that I'm working on! Feel free to message me for constructive criticism or comment what you love! The only sensitive topic for this chapter is talk of Panic attacks, and self esteem issues, these will be quite reoccurring through out the book so please don't read if it if triggering or a sensitive topic. If there is any sexual content that is beyond discussion or first base, I will be putting this symbol before and after each scene ~ and I will be putting a warning in the chapter notes! Please enjoy and let me know if you want more and I can possibly create a release schedule for every chapter. I'm excited to bring this story to life :)

Jewel stepped off the shuttle with a breath of accomplishment, she made it. It was her father's dream for her to work on the ship her grandfather had worked on some time ago. She trained at the academy and passed with flying grades and excelled at every assignment she'd ever been on. And now she was here where her own role models, in every category, roamed the decks. She was working with the best and it felt great to finally be here.

The shuttle bay seemed to be busy so Jewel grabbed her belongings and met with the officer who was going to take her to quarters... she'd moved around enough to know the drill, and to be completely honest she'd studied the schematics of the ship inside and out on the 23-hour shuttle ride there, she could probably find it on her own without a 5-minute delay.

"Hello, my name is Farrow, Ensign Jewel Farrow. It's a pleasure to meet you," Jewel extended a hand to the Junior grade Lieutenant standing patiently by the door. The shuttle's pilot was not very talkative on the ride to her new home, so socializing was no difficulty at the moment.

"The pleasure is all mine," The Lieutenant smiled while accepting the handshake, "We've needed an extra hand in sickbay lately, I'm so glad you could join us. Would you like some help with that?"

Jewel looked down at her luggage and shook her head before realizing that might be considered rude. She did not want to make a bad impression on the first day and, though cheery on the outside, anxious feelings rustled in her chest.

"No, thank you! It's quite light, I think I'll manage." Jewel awkwardly chuckled.

"Alright then, let's get on our way." They began to round about the corner, exiting through the automatic doors, "So I heard you specialize in Pediatrics, Family Med and Neonatal? We don't have any nurses like you on board, which seems to be ironic due to the many families we treat."

"I wouldn't have guessed it was needed! You have many fine medical officers who are specialized in complicated areas, doesn’t one of you have a degree in brain pathways?" Jewel joked with the Lieutenant.

“Yes, well for some, that doesn’t help with the getting along with children part. It’s difficult to make kids feel calm and welcome, especially aliens and colony members,” The Lieutenant sighed with what seemed to be a knowing smile.

Jewel gave her a small look of doubt, it wasn’t that hard for her… it never has been. She grew up with 4 siblings and took care of them on Earth while her mother was away, her mother had been a nurse for an emergency medical supply ship for some time. Deep in the night, she may have had to leave, and Jewel would help her siblings get ready for the day’s activities. Her father was an admiral in Starfleet, which meant he was gone most of the time and when he was home he tended to be asleep. When he took leave, however… Those were the best days of her life, being with him and being together as a family. Family was very important to her and it took a lot of tears to convince Jewel that her oldest sister could take over the house while she went to the academy, and started her career.

"Trust me, I read your file. Your experience with research on gravitational propulsion and otherworldly species could be quite helpful to the bridge at times, I'm sure. Plus if the teachers, child development center, and daycare ever need help…. you're perfect for the job." The Lieutenant reassured.

She was right, Jewel was very accomplished in many things, even her leadership skills were top of the line. It wasn't a miracle she was on board the Enterprise, yet she always played down her accomplishments. She knew that was why she had not been promoted yet, she let her own limitations that she placed on herself control her decisions… well, that and her anxiety.

"You have been doing your reading." Jewel commented while staring in awe at the Enterprise walls, "Thank you by the way. It's really nice of you."

"Just stating what your past superior documented," We stepped into the turbo-lift, "Deck 10. If I may ask… what made you go down a position? You were head nurse back at DS 5, yet you moved down to come here?"

The Lieutenant seemed to be a bit hesitant to ask the question so Juliet offered her a smile, she understood those feelings all too well.

“It’s been my dream to work on the Enterprise, ever since I was 8 years old I knew where I wanted to be assigned. I worked hard to get here and if that means going down a position to work with the best crew in the galaxy… I’d choose it every time.”

The sudden whirring of the contraption solidified the newfound silence between them. Juliet was in awe of the starship and how large it was. The Lieutenant smiled a bit at her glowing face, she seemed really happy to be here and she was excited to work with someone so passionate. The ride ended quickly, but Jewel seemed eager to move on, striding out of the lift with a smile on her face.

“You’ve never been on a starship before, have you?” The Lieutenant seemed to read right through her wondrous eyes.

“Been on one? Yes. Worked on one? No.” Jewel said, eyes still scanning the walls and technology that surrounded her, “I’ve only worked on a space station and a research facility, each combined to about a year, but never a ship like this. It’s just so… surreal, I would have never thought my dream would have come true so soon” She felt like spinning round and round throughout the hallway, just laughing with joy.

“Everyone says that when they first arrive,” The Lieutenant remarked with a knowing smile, “But many don’t realize the amount of work you need to put in to be a part of the Enterprise. She’s always pulled through for us, but that can tend to mean over time for her crew… I have a feeling you can stand the pressure Ensign. Here we are.”

They turned to look at the door that was meant to be her home for, hopefully, the next few years. With a deep breath, she walked through the door with a swish and her eyes glimmered with happiness. Her quarters were bigger than any of the other ones she’d ever had, she set her stuff down with a sigh of content.

“It’s incredible,” She turned to the Lieutenant behind her, “Thank you for escorting me, Lieutenant.”

“You’re quite welcome. Make sure you check for your assignment times, Dr. Crusher will want to schedule a physical, and Counselor Troi may ask to speak with you within a few weeks. I assume you know what a replicator is and if you need help finding anything else, just ask the computer” The Lieutenant gestured towards the panels, “I highly recommend the holodeck here, it’s quite good. But if you want to meet people I suggest, Ten Forward, the bartender can be quite the listener.”

“Thank you for everything… I don’t believe you told me your name?” Jewel inquired.

“ I apologize, Lieutenant Alyssa Ogawa, Head Nurse. I must have been too distracted earlier.” Alyssa smiled.

“Well Lieutenant Ogawa, it was amazing to meet you! Hopefully, we’ll work together soon.” Jewel beamed. She was glad she made a good connection with her higher-up, every minute seemed to better her anxiety. Jewel felt she was going to fit right in from that moment forward.

Alyssa left not too long after Jewel’s statement, and she wanted to get exploring right away. She checked herself in the mirror and reveled in her uniform. The blue brought out her eyes and made her red hair stick out from her pale skin. Juliet decided to fix her bun, pulling out her tight curls from the hair-thing, only to take the flyaways and wrap them firmly back into her original bun. Juliet only ever wore her hair down during special occasions, because her curls never cooperated longer than an hour before resembling a thick lion’s mane. If she was lucky, she could get away with a ponytail or even a half up-do, but that was a rare occasion unless she used 60 squirts of leave-in conditioner the night before.

Jewel took a deep breath to slow down the nerves before turning towards the door, “Off we go then.”

A small mewl stopped her in her tracks. "Shoot Blue!," she thought. She spun around and quickly opened her kennel where her small grey kitten emerged with a distressed look. She cooed and apologized, it must have been hard for him that whole trip, after all, he was only a month old. A gift of celebration from her father, Blue was her most prized possession.

“I’m sorry baby,” Jewel picked up the cat and kissed his forehead, much to his disliking, “I'll get some food going, how does that sound?”

Another mewl emerged from the cat, she decided that it was his version of approval. Jewel walked over to the replicator.

“Dish of water. Room temperature please,” Once the bowl had formed, she placed it on the floor where Blue rushed for it, she straightened back out. “Cat food please.”

“What supplement would you prefer?” The computer replied.

“Oh, uhm… I’m not sure... what do you have?” Juliet was startled, she didn’t think there would be options.

“There are a total of 152 currently recorded supplements stored in the food databases. Supplement 1; a ch-”

“Computer,” Juliet interrupted, “I don’t think that will be necessary. Can you maybe just surprise me?”

“Feline supplement number 127”

The synthesizer whirred and the food appeared. Jewel hoped it would be good as she placed it down and Blue sniffed it doubtfully… he mewled and walked away. Jewel sighed and decided she’d leave the food there until she got back from her exploring, and then test some new… supplements when she got back.

“Bye, Blue! I’ll be right back, don’t get into trouble while I-” Jewel started to say as she left the confines of her quarters, before she realized she was about to collide with another officer. She let out a gasp and pulled herself back quickly enough to barely miss the man. She started to apologize when she looked up and saw… no one? The hallway was a bit busy due to the change of shifts, but the man had disappeared. Only inches apart she had loudly gasped, there’s no way he had not recognized the situation and no way he could have moved that far in that amount of time.

Jewel felt a few eyes on her after the encounter and her anxiety peaked. Embarrassment didn't sit well with her and she immediately turned around right back into her quarters. She paced back and forth trying to forget the situation, ranting quietly to herself hoping it would calm her down.  
You just embarrassed yourself in front of all those people. They probably think you're crazy, delusional. Are you losing your mind? What will they say behind your back? No one will be friends with you now. What if they relieve you from duty and you haven’t even started yet!

Thoughts racked her brain and she knew she had to calm down quickly if she didn’t want to push into a small PA. Her anger rose and she cursed at herself.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid… Starfleet Officers don’t clumsily run into “invisible men”, that’s crazy. You should have been paying more attention!” Jewel knew if she got past the anger into crying she might not be able to take control of it, panic would set in and her breath would get too shallow, too quickly.

“Okay, stop, stop, stop, stop,” She fanned her eyes pushing back the tears and forced her pacing to cease. She sat as still as possible, even still rubbing her feet together, and focused on the nightstand across her bed. She took deep calming breaths, counting from 1 to 4, 5 times before she got her heart rate down enough.

This was her third build-up to a PA these past few weeks, she didn’t want people knowing of it… it provides a compromise to the ship if something caused her not to function as well as normally. She re-composed herself, Juliet had passed out during panic attacks before and could be quite dangerous, they scared her lots. If it got that bad she might end up calling for help, which would not help in her colleague's confidence in her.

Jewel had avoided having a PA in public for years now. Her home doctor had prescribed her with medication but it made her tired and sometimes moody. Even though those symptoms only lasted a month after starting, she didn’t have the time to stay hidden from the world to take it. On the space station she had been able to lay low and the entrance examination for Star-fleet she had been able to use the excuse from her Oma’s death as a cause for the high hormone levels, along with her young age they decided to pardon it. She hadn’t lied, It had increased her anxiety by megatons from when she was younger, it was her first death in her family since she was born… 16 years is a long time without experiencing the effects of death at first hand. She had also been able to pass the psychology requirements (barely but her pardon had helped), her psychological exam had gone rather smoothly but she believed it was because she knew it was probably an exam… didn’t quite know because they staged it as an incident but she expected something was up, which meant she had less of a reason to have anxiety.

She knew she’d have to come up with some sort of excuse to get out of the examination or to make up for her hormonal imbalance, Jewel heard the doctor here doesn’t miss anything nor relents to something when she has her mindset, she’d push her to take the medication and if she refused and it interfered with her work… she felt she could be removed from duty. She also knew they’d check up to see if it’s improved due to Starfleet records. She didn’t like having to rely on a pill to feel happier and stress-free, nor the effects it could cause.

Jewel also had the feeling she would have to start soon, her symptoms had become worse especially within these past few weeks, she could feel her brain getting foggier throughout work on the space station. Hopefully, she could push it deep down just as she did the research station and DS5 so it won’t affect her work, she’d just have to push harder for it not to be noticeable… even in a room with people trained to detect these things.

Jewel decided she’d wait for tomorrow to explore since she was obviously on edge. She sat down and turned on her PADD (Personal Access Display Device) to find any messages and assignment details. First, she found a welcome message directed towards all the new recruits from Captain Picard and then a message from the database of her assignment details. She clicked on it, she was due for duty on stardate 44248.1, she was also mainly on the day shift unless needed later… which was only 3 days away. This spiked her nerves up a lot, normally you’d get a week to get acquainted and situated unless otherwise requested, Jewel guessed it must not be that way on starships. A new message came in from the doctor on the ship, Dr. Crusher. 

“Hello and welcome to the Enterprise, I hope Lieutenant Ogawa treated you well. I’m excited to get to work with you and your individual talents, I’m quite sure we’ll get along just splendid. Please don’t forget to schedule an appointment for your transfer physical, although I would worry too much if you didn’t. We’ll have plenty of time to do it in the clinic if you don’t get the chance. I hope to see you in 3 days!” 

Jewel's stomach rolled in an unpleasant matter as she thought about starting her new assignment. She was capable in her skills but what about her awkwardness, she would have to work with adults she doesn’t know, patients and peers. All she could do is hope that she didn’t make a fool of herself.

Jewel sighed and looked at Blue who slept peacefully on one of the chairs placed in her quarters. She began to unpack her few things which included; a glowing rock from the Andor sector (a gift for her 15th birthday from her mother), a few dresses with accessories for formal occasions (not truly needed because she could replicate some clothes anytime), lingerie (and somethings that pertain to that idea) and 2 nightgowns (you never know who you’re going to meet), makeup and jewelry for special occasions (including a ring from her Oma, very rare and expensive jewel given to her by her own Dad. He was the one who worked on the original Enterprise), a variety of hair products and tools to help tame the mess which she called hair, a statue a dear friend gave her on DS5, and her extra communicator, dress uniform, extra usual uniform, and shoes.

After arranging everything and deciding against dinner, Jewel laid on her bed after changing out of her uniform and patted beside her while clucking at Blue to come join her. He eventually hopped off the couch and snuggled up beside Juliet while purring constantly. After lowering the lights Jewel’s sleep didn’t improve until after taking a melatonin an hour later. Jewel’s dreams consisted of her eating a picnic with her family back on Earth near her favorite natural lake, a rare sight after the wars years ago, Lake Whitman. She dreamt of before her anxiety when she could run freely through the lake without repercussions… All the while wondering how she’d ever feel that carefree and protected again.


	2. Likewise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies! I want to thank you for the Kudos, Hits, and Bookmarks! It means a lot! Please also remember that I am here if you want to talk about this story, it's outcomes, criticisms, or problems that may be happening outside this site. I, probably like most of you, have been using writing and reading as an escape from the events going on... it feels amazing to transport into this almost perfect world away from it all, and your feedback makes it ten times better for me. So sincerely, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and please feel free to comment or send me a chat to talk about anything. Please know that many love you (including me) and it will get better!
> 
> WARNINGS  
> Panic attacks, anxiety, suicide (mention) abuse (mention), depression (mention), self hatred, cutting (mention), Self harm (Mention), sexual innuendos and thoughts. IF ANY OF THESE TRIGGER YOU PLEASE DON'T READ!!! I CARE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR HEALTH. Mentioning of blood, slight violence, and injuries... This will be reoccurring because OC works in sickbay!! Bad writing because I'm tired and too lazy to proofread.
> 
> P.S. Not all anxiety feels the same for everyone. This is how I experience panic attacks/anxiety so that's the definition for me ( I just want to help people feel heard and welcome!) It's difficult to write a feeling in a different way, having never felt it that way before! (proof in Data's poems) Please message if there is concerns or a need to speak freely!

Two days had gone by quickly, and Jewel was on her last day of free time before she started. She had gotten another message from the doctor, letting her know that she was free this evening, but Jewel made up an excellent excuse. The longer she can avoid, the more time she has to figure out an excuse for her… “faults”. So far Jewel had ventured to almost every corner of the ship that was open to all, except for the technically illegal quick peek at engineering and it’s GORGEOUS warp core. She had checked out Ten Forward but it seemed busy, and two senior officers were present so she decided to come back another time, Jewel didn’t want to look like the lonely new girl at the bar anyways. The only place left was the holodeck, she was the save-the-best-for-last kind of girl.

Jewel quickly walked through the decks of the Enterprise, she didn’t wish to be found by the doctor and convinced to visit sooner. Swinging around the corner, she noticed a man disassembling the computer panel. Luckily, she had been paying attention and had stopped just before running into him, but right as she was about to apologize for being careless he was gone. Her eyes had only fluttered down a mere second before looking up to see no one there and the computer panel just as it should be. No one else was walking down the deck so Juliet took a determined stride around each corner, quizzically scanning the empty hall. Next, she moved over to the panel where she touched it to be sure it was fine, it chimed back at her as if signaling it’s confusion.

“Are you looking for something Ensign?” A deep authoritative, yet amused, voice emerged from behind her.

Startled, Jewel jumped a bit accompanied by a gasp of fear. She whipped around bringing her hand up to her badge, before realizing who it was. She felt her face warm and knew it was as red as ladybug before she could stop it. 

“Oh-uhm, uh… n-no, no sir. I was just uhm…” She didn’t really have much of an excuse so her gaze shifted to the floor. Jewel didn’t do well with authority figures, they intimate her too much… especially when it’s someone as high up the chain of command as the first officer.

“I apologize I didn’t mean to make you jump,” Commander Riker dropped his tough voice quickly, realizing she was new and nervous, and instead offered his best smile accompanied with a chuckle. He saw nothing wrong with the panel after peering at it during her attempt to answer his question. Despite being curious as to what she had been doing, she was cute so the commander decided to just let it slide, “May I ask where you were going?”

“Oh uhm, I was heading to the holodecks… Commander.” She added quickly.

“My name Is Riker, Commander Riker. Mind if I accompany you? I’m on my way to the turbo-lift as well.”

“Of course!” Jewel cringed at her enthusiasm, “My name is Jewel Farrow, Ensign Farrow.”

“I haven’t seen you before, you must have been on the shuttle with the new transfers?”

Jewel felt silly without her uniform, walking next to the first officer. She hadn’t really expected to see many this late, right after the day shift-change rush, so she hadn’t bothered to put anything special on. Now attempting to keep up in her grey dress, next to the commander’s long strides (even though he had been polite enough to walk quite slowly), she was sure she looked ridiculous. Her blushed cheeks seemed to be staying put as well, much to Jewel’s dismay. 

“Aye, sir. I arrived two days ago,” She looked up offering a hesitant smile. Why was he so freaking tall, she felt bad for whoever was kissing him… she took it back, bad wasn’t the right word... more like jealous. Shaking her head she cursed herself, he was a superior and she should not be thinking such things… 

They made light conversation as they boarded the turbo-lift and continued until the commander stepped off with a smile, and a flirtatious “hope to see you later.” The rest of the ride up, Jewel kept her blush. She was happy the commander was so kind and that she was able to loosen up by the time he got off. It was a successful conversation so it had to have made up for the incident earlier… the incident earlier! She had almost forgotten, mentally facepalming herself she thought about how embarrassing it was.

Jewel stepped off the turbo lift with a sigh and continued her walk to the holodecks. She hoped they weren’t all full, otherwise, it would have been quite the walk for nothing. When she approached holodeck four, the computer chimed it’s availability. After setting the program she had brought from DS5, Jewel walked through the doors. Immediately a smile crawled across her face, it looked perfect! As if she could feel the sun on her face she closed her eyes and breathed in happily, all the while slipping her shoes off to let her feet touch the warm grass.

Her farm on Earth, at least the identical look-alike, stared back at her. She giggled as she heard the cow’s moo from the other side of the fence and the chicken’s cluck as they scratched at her mother’s rhubarb, her mother always hated it when they did that. Jewel let a tear fall down her face as she stared over their long pasture, into the forest where she broke her arm when she was 7, over the pond that housed the biggest toads she’d ever seen, and all the way towards the horse barn where she knew her tack and saddle sat waiting for her to hop onto her horse.

She let out another content sigh as the sunset over the dog house, where her two dogs lay snoring in the receding sunlight. She lowered herself onto the grass and smiled more (if it was possible). If she was actually home she’d be feeding the cows right now, she could almost hear her sister singing in the distance as she fed the horses. Juliet sat for what seemed like only a few minutes longer before asking the computer for the time. It had been 2 hours and it was time for her to head back to her quarters if she wished to sleep at all before her shift in the morning.

“Computer, save and exit the program.” Jewel sighed and pulled her shoes back on and began straightening her dress. The black and yellow room took over her beautiful farm, and her steps echoed throughout the now empty room as she exited through the doorway.

By the time Jewel got back, she was exhausted. She asked the computer for another supplement, which Blue still didn’t seem to really prefer, and then immediately changed into her nightgown. She decided against melatonin due to her tiredness and barely got the words out of her mouth for the computer to set an alarm for 0500. She pulled the covers up and fell asleep quickly.

....

It was dark and cold. She couldn’t tell where she was but it was somewhere scary, somewhere she felt unhappy. The ground felt like it was metal, she saw people moving but never an actual sound was made. She sat up and began to walk before realizing she was falling. She tried to scream but nothing came out.

Slamming onto the ground after falling for minutes, she got up groggily. A deep voice boomed behind her, it sounded like… the commander? She turned around but saw nobody, it surrounded her. It felt like she was being choked, she couldn’t breathe, and the walls closed in on her… suddenly there were walls? There weren't any walls before just darkness, the voice broke her concentration with a loud mumble that she couldn’t understand. She strained to hear what was being said but it sounded like nonsense… Suddenly a loud bang came out of nowhere and the booming voice stopped.

The walls retreated and Jewel stood up shakingly looking towards where the bang originated from, she squinted for any sign of movement. Suddenly a pale face lunged at her through the darkness, Jewel screamed jumping to the side.

Her head hit something soft... but hard. Her body attempted to get her to breathe back again. She opened her eyes to see that she was in her quarters… on the floor. She was still freezing and got up just as the lights rose in her room and the computer informed her of the time. She looked around and figured out it had all been a dream, Blue sat on the couch looking at her like a crazy woman. She shakily brought a hand up to smooth over her hair and noticed her blankets spread all over the floor.

She sighed and regained herself, muttering, “It was just a dream. It was just a dream. Calm down, just a slight dream.”

“Computer, can you make it a bit warmer in here?” Jewel said, her teeth chattering. The environmental controls must have malfunctioned in her sleep, she’d have to mention it to someone if it happened again. Soon enough her quarters were back to normal and she began to get ready.

Jewel took a shower and got dressed, nerves picking up as she wrapped her hair into a tight bun. She noticed in the mirror that she had a slight bump and scratch on her forehead where she had hit it on the floor. She gently wiped the excess blood away and covered up what she could with the concealer. She felt she had become quite good with covering up bruising over the past year, but the bump might be a bit harder… she undid her bun and re-parted her hair so that a bit of hair would sweep over the bump concealing it from most un-observant people. When she was done, Juliet gazed in the mirror smiling, she looked like herself.

Lastly pinning her badge onto her uniform, Juliet walked out of her quarters with a little wave of nervousness towards Blue before heading to Sick Bay. It wasn’t a long walk but it seemed to drag on forever, she had never worked on a Starship before…what if it was super different! OR what if they thought she was unqualified, she had been working as a nurse for only a year and a half! By the time she had shushed herself, she stood in front of the sickbay doors. Jewel took a deep breath of confidence before she walked in with a smile plastered on her face. Immediately Dr. Crusher noticed Juliet walking in and she walked over to greet her. 

“Ensign Farrow? My name is Beverly Crusher, It’s wonderful to meet you. I hope you found your way well?” Beverley asked with a smile on her face.

“Yes, thank you. It’s an honor to meet you!” Jewel smiled back at Dr. Crusher. She was extremely pretty and seemed super nice, plus she was a redhead as well! Jewel had also read some of her articles before she transferred to see who she was working with and from what she had read, she knew Dr.Crusher was a very smart and very thorough doctor. 

“I’ll show where you can find everything, alright?”

Jewel nodded and was shown where all the supplies and instruments could be found. She was soon assigned a tricorder, it was the latest model and she wasn’t at all surprised. Jewel could barely control her excitement as she was shown the latest technology, having already been trained in the use of equipment you’d think she’d be used to instruments like these, but DS5 had hardly the newest items and many things had changed since she had worked on the medical ship a year ago. Her high spirits were immediately brought down when Dr. Crusher said some dreaded news.

“Well today is a slow day, so I think it would be best to do your physical right now. You can’t avoid it or me any longer Ensign,” Dr. Crusher smiled, clearly teasing. But Jewel knew that Dr.Crusher had not been off about Jewel avoiding her, this caused her face to get quite pale.  
“Are you alright?” Dr.Crushers smile quickly transitioned into a look of concern, she ushered the Ensign to the nearest bed. Bringing out her tricorder, Jewel’s heart rate just kept climbing.

“Doctor I’m quite fine,” Jewel choked out, “doctor appointments just make me nervous.” Jewel offered a slight smile and Dr. Crusher returned a more concerned one. Juliet cringed at her response, she was a nurse! What kind of nurse is nervous about appointments unless she has something to hide? Dr.Crusher’s concerned look grew the longer her tricorder scanned.

“Well, Jewel… you have an increased amount of adrenaline in your bloodstream, which normally I would just ignore due to your fear of doctor appointments but since you have had problems with your hormonal levels in the past I checked on those as well,” Dr. Crusher sighed, “I had no idea your endocrine system was this out of balance, are you taking medication?”

“Uhm, no Doctor. But I don’t really see the reason too, I’m perfectly fine,” Jewel smiled but Dr. Crusher was more than skeptical.

“Jewel, your estrogen levels are off the charts! I can believe your anxiety would be increased rapidly at times, sometimes it causes depression, and rapid weight gain has always been a symptom. I can only imagine the amount of food you’d have to stop eating to keep the healthy weight you're at!” Dr. Crusher's eyebrows furrowed and she lowered her voice, “Do you need to tell me, anything Ensign?”

Jewel noticed Dr. Crusher's eyes shoot down to her exposed wrists. Her face blotched with red and Juliet felt like crying, the young ensign had never cut herself nor had any thoughts of harming her body or others for that matter, but the thought that someone could assume she was that unstable by looking at a chart…

“No, Doctor. I promise you that I’m feeling quite well. I have never had any suicidal thoughts… but I-” Jewel hesitated to say anything about her panic attacks, Dr.Crusher placed a hand on Jewel’s in an attempt of comfort. Jewel took a breath to stop herself from crying and then continued, “-have been having an increased number of PA’s lately.”

Dr.Crusher looked confused and then realized what she was talking about, “You're talking about panic attacks… Well, I have no choice but to prescribe you some Paxil. Maybe a sedative for occasional panic attacks, but I wouldn’t recommend you take while standing up and only for a panic attack. And increased anxiety usually inhibits sleep so I’ll give you some melatonin. Now, Jewel, you’ll have to-”

“Doctor,” Juliet interrupted, “I don’t mean to interrupt but I don’t want to take any drugs. The side effects affect my job too much.”

“They have perfected the medicine Jewel, there are no more side effects. There are dangerous consequences to having a hormonal imbalance, Jewel. It’ll only be worse if you don’t take it, so I’m also suggesting you have some counseling sessions with Counselor Troi while you are here,” Dr. Crusher seemed hesitant to say the last part, but she deemed it necessary for Jewel's health.

Jewel couldn’t come up with any other excuse for the medicine, so she managed a slight nod of approval. Her frown showed her disapproval though, she didn’t like having to count on medicine, and going to a counselor would make her look… weird, she was sure of it.

“You’ll need to take the Paxil twice a day for a week, and then you can go once a day. It should eventually balance your endocrine system, and manage your anxiety but if you don’t take it for the day your anxiety will peak at even worse until you start taking it regularly again. You'll have to start eating more and expanding your stomach, or else you'll become very weak, very quickly. Again, I’ll send you with 1 dose of a weak sedative, that should calm you down if it happens to cause you to go unconscious, tell me and I’ll write off whatever you miss and I'll adjust the dosage. And for the melatonin, I was thinking of starting you off with 5 milligra-”

“I’m already taking over the counter melatonin, Doctor. 5 milligrams,” Jewel said with a shaky voice.

“Oh, and it seems to work for you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, well be sure to tell me if you ever run out and I’ll refill it for you. This includes the other medications as well, if you happen to have a panic attack, not near your sedative I want you to call for sickbay okay? With as big of a hormonal imbalance that you have, you could seriously harm yourself… how come they didn’t stop this when you transferred over to DS5?” Dr. Crusher said while holding out a handful of medication. 

“I was able to fly under the radar, and they completely forgot about the physical…” Jewel admitted while grabbing the meds, “Although I figured that wouldn’t happen here.”

“Well, I’m definitely going to have to address Starfleet about that, thanks for telling me.” Dr. Crusher said eyebrows furrowed yet again as she typed something into a portable PADD. She then grabbed a portable cell regenerator and swiped Jewel’s pulled back, tight hair to the side. She ran it over the bump quickly and then moved over to grab a dose of Paxil, pressing it to Jewel’s neck with ease.

She worked quickly, Jewel hadn't even noticed her grab the medication a bit ago. And Jewel would have never caught the bump on her head as Dr. Crusher had. Jewel knew she could learn a lot from the Doctor and was thrown into a bit of admiration for how swiftly the doctor worked. 

“I recommend you go and drop your meds off in your quarters and then come back. I have a patient I would like you to meet.”  
“Aye, sir… and thank you.” Jewel slid off the bed, turning around while looking at the doctor who nodded in return. Jewel began to leave through the doors when the doctor called out one last thing.

“I would recommend you stop hiding medical problems, Ensign! I always find out,” Dr. Crusher walked into her office, leaving Jewel by herself at the door.

“Aye, sir.” She smiled, mostly to herself, and then began her walk back to her quarters.

Jewel returned from her quick trip and noticed a young Klingon sitting on the bed. When Jewel saw none of the nurses open due to the other two patients, she approached the young boy. He seemed to be about 2-4 and very sad, with his head down and his lips drawn into a deep frown. This face wasn’t uncommon for adult Klingons but a child this young, not so much.

“Hello, my name is Farrow! Nurse Farrow if you wish to be formal, but sadly my first name is a secret,” Jewel held a finger up to her lips as if shushing while gauging the young boy's reaction. He smiled a bit, and while she hadn’t worked with many young Klingon children, she was happy it worked, “So what’s your name?”

“Alexander,” He said, no longer looking down, but a frown still stuck on his cheeks.

“Ooooo, a warrior name. You look like a warrior Alexander, don’t tell me… you’re in here for fighting a HUGE Iguana. And without a scratch to that’s pretty impressive!” Jewel joked with him.

“Nope.” Alexander smiled a bit more.

“No? I was sure that was it,” Jewel pretended to be thinking of what could have happened. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she brought a finger up as if she had an idea, “I got it! In defense of your best friend, you fought off 60 ruffians! And when you were done you got such a big hug from them that you thought you broke your back and had to come here!”

“No, wrong again!” The Klingon giggled throughout the whole charade Jewel had put on until his smile died into another frown, “I don’t have many friends…”

“Why yes, you do Alexander! You have me,” Jewel smiled, “And since I know you’ll protect me from 60 ruffians, I think I’ll keep you around for a long time.” Alexander beamed a huge smile.

“Now since I can’t seem to guess why you’re in here, why don’t you tell me?”

“Worf… Father says I need a checkup since I’m new on board!” Alexander paused and thought out calling the man “Father”, Juliet took that as a sign not to discuss family.

“So you're new huh? So am I! I’ve only been here for 4 days!” Jewel said, holding up three fingers, counting her fingers, and then adding one more with a gasp as if realizing she had counted wrong in the first place.

“So have I!” Alexander smiled and held up 4 fingers just as Jewel had done. Jewel counted his fingers with her eyebrows furrowed and muttered a few words about him being so smart, Alexander let out another big laugh. Jewel quickly searched up his name in a nearby PADD and found his newly created file, finding his appointment schedule.

“Okay, Alexander! I’m going to do some tests alright? I promise they won’t hurt and to prove it I do it on me first alright?” Jewel said, running the medical tricorder over her body as Alexander watched intently, nodding in approval when she moved down to his arm.

She scanned his body only finding a slight decrease in serotonin, Juliet gave him a quick hypospray in the neck to help and then knelt down beside him.

“Now Alexander… I have one more very important test. It tests if you're lying to me okay? I’m going to take this little reflex hammer and bonk it slightly on your knee alright? If it kicks your telling the truth and if it doesn’t you're lying, want to see?” This wasn’t a needed test, she saw his tendon ability on the tricorder earlier and it was just fine, she just enjoyed seeing him laugh.

Alexander nodded.

“Tell me a lie.”

“I am purple,” Alexander said with a giggle. Jewel lightly placed the reflex hammer on the upper part of his knee, missing the Klingon tendon responsible for knee movement.

“Well, you were definitely lying!” Jewel said, “Now tell me… what is my name?”

Alexander thought and thought until he gasped, “Nurse Farrow!”

Jewel lightly hit the left side of his kneecap making his leg kick up. She shuffled over to his left leg next.

“Good job!” Jewel exclaimed, giving him a high five, “Now if I told you my first name? Would you tell anyone else?”

Alexander’s eyes widened and he shook his head no. Jewel again brought down the reflex hammer on his right side of his kneecap, and his leg kicked up.

“Okay, I’ll tell you. But only because you’re my friend okay?” Jewelleaned over and whispered her name in his ear.

“I like that name!” Alexander said with a smile.

“Thank you, very much Alexander!” Jewel said with a smile, “You can call me that name anytime!”

“Okay, Jewel!” Alexander looked over to the door when it opened and a large Klingon walked through. Jewel stood up and nodded at him, and looked at Alexander. “I have to go now!”

“Are you sure? We can always I.D. him if necessary.” Jewel said with a serious face.

“I’m sure,” Alexander said jumping off the bed.

“Okay, you come to visit anytime! You got it, Alexander?” Jewel called off as Alexander ran towards the man.

“Okay, Ju- Nurse Farrow! Good-bye!” Alexander waved.

Jewel smiled and winked at the young boy as he left, holding his father’s hand. She added the hypospray to his file and noted anything else she saw before reporting to Doctor Crusher.

“Doctor, I just met with Alexander and gave him his physical. He had low serotonin so I gave him a mild hypospray.” Jewel said after knocking at the door.

“Great! I was going to introduce him to you when you got here, so I’m glad it worked out. Just next time before you give him a hypospray, be sure to check with me first so I can confirm.” Dr. Crusher looked surprised, impressed, concerned, and happy all at the same time. Jewel wasn’t sure what to make of it so she just smiled and apologized, swearing she’d do that next time. “If you could go set up the beds and ask one of the nurses for the other things you need to do, that would be great!”

Jewel nodded and walked out through the door, she smiled at the ground until she noticed a black pair of shiny shoes in the corner of the room, near Dr. Crusher’s office. She stopped and looked at the strange man who seemed to be staring at her. He looked to be a Lieutenant and slightly looked non-human… He had perfectly slicked back hair, his head twitched to the side in what seemed to be curiosity, his skin a greenish silver hue, and his eyes the burning as bright as the sun near Ryson. He was attractive, but he also seemed to be a bit confused.

“Hello, may I help you?” Jewel asked with a smile, although she hoped she didn’t have to care for him because she didn’t really know what he was.  
“Greetings, I am only observing. I find I can understand humans better by watching them work with others,” So he definitely isn’t human, Jewel thought, “I do not require medical help, thank you for asking. I hope I was not an issue?”

“No, you weren’t! I apologize for interrupting, Lieutenant…” Jewel trailed off realizing she didn’t know his name. The Lieutenant twitched his head and took a moment before realizing what she was saying.

“My name is Lieutenant Data, nice to make an acquaintance with you!” He said in a monotone voice.

“Likewise,” Jewel giggled. She couldn’t help it, he spoke so formally and she found it kind of funny. His head twitched again in confusion. Where had she heard that name before

“I fail to see what is funny.” The Lieutenant said without emotion in his face or voice.

Jewel’s face went red as she realized who he was, he was third in command! Lieutenant Data, she had read about him on the shuttle ride over, only if she could remember what he was...

“I apologize, Lieutenant, I didn’t mean to laugh. My mind went to other places,” Jewel smiled apologetically, her face still burning red with embarrassment. Her gaze shifted to the floor again and she cursed herself.

Data noticed her red face and decided not to comment on it nor her tendency to apologize when it wasn’t necessary. Instead, he was more confused by the statement she had said, “But you were here the whole time, your mind can not move without leaving your body.”

“Oh!”, She said looking up, “It means my focus was diverted by a thought that popped up while I was talking to you. Again, I apologize, it can be taken as quite rude.”

“I do not see the need to apologize. I do not have feelings therefore I can not be affected in a way worth an apology. You cannot control all your thoughts all the time, am I correct?” Jewel nodded, she had never thought of it that way before. What kind of alien doesn’t have emotions, her thoughts raced through her brain... he obviously wasn't vulcan.

“Oh, I see!” Juliet said still with confusion on her face.

“I watched you take care of Alexander earlier and he seemed very happy, yet you lied to him and did an unnecessary test?” Data inquired. “I understand you have duties to fill currently but I wish to discuss this, perhaps later, if you are not busy?”

Jewel’s face went redder, now he thinks she’s wasting time! Is he going to reprimand her, what if he thinks she’s incapable in her duties, oh goodness!, “Uh no sir. I get off at 1500 if you would like to have a meeting discussing my method of care.”

“Okay, I will be here when your shift ends. We can talk about it then.” Data said, and with that, he turned and left sickbay.

Jewel scurried over and began preparing the beds and talked to the nurses. She was so nervous about having to talk with a superior already, it was all she could think about. Pretty soon it was an hour until her shift ended and her nerves spiked. Her stomach rolled and twisted in knots and she felt sweat brim her forehead. “This was not a great start,” She thought to herself.


End file.
